Unstable Energon
by metallicgirl42
Summary: Starscream, ground-bound and stuck at base with a broken wing, convinces Megatron to let him tag along on a mission to steal some energon cubes, only to be caught by the Autobots on the way. Megatron escapes the battle relatively unharmed, but Starscream is seriously injured and barely alive...leaving Megatron with a difficult decision.
1. Mission Invite

**SUMMARY: Starscream is stuck at base due to a broken wing and going stir-crazy. So when Megatron announces that he's going on a seemingly harmless mission to collect some energon, Starscream is thrilled to have a chance to finally leave the base. But when the two of them start arguing over who will find the cubes first and tempers escalate, the trip takes an unexpected turn...and leads to a difficult choice.******

**...******

"Energon doses and whispers on kittens. Bright copper metal and something you've bitten. Powerful blasters and, um...something with wings, these are a few of my favorite things..."

"You know, Skywarp, I really think I feel better now," said Starscream, arms folded across his chest.

"Really?" asked Skywarp, stopping his singing.

"NO, not really!" Starscream yelled. "And I don't think that's even how the song goes."

"Being ground-bound has gotta be, like, the _worst _thing that could happen to a jet," said Thundercracker. "When will you be healed-you know, able to fly again?"

"Two weeks to a month," Starscream said. "It's very depressing, not to mention painful. After about a week of this, I felt like I was infected with the Cybertronian Plague."

Right now, Starscream was sulking on the couch, not really doing anything productive. Thundercracker and Skywarp were both standing next to him. For one week now, half of Starscream's left wing had been snapped off, leaving him basically crippled, stuck at base, unable to fly-and it wasn't treating him well. Most of the others had just decided to avoid him, but Skywarp and Thundercracker had stuck around. It was allegedly because, as the legends have it, a Seeker's wounds heal quicker if he is surrounded by his own kind. But it was mostly because they didn't really need to to be accused of being "traitors".

"You don't have the Cybertronian Plague," Thundercracker was saying, watching Starscream, who was slurping on about his seventh energon smoothie that day. "And stop acting like such a sparkling. Remember when _I _got injured?"

"Oh yeah," said Skywarp. "I remember that."

"Of _course_ you remember it." Thundercracker glared at the purple Seeker. "_Both _of my wings had been blasted, one of my arms got shot off, and so I was lying there screaming, in the pain of my LIFE, with Screamer running around in a panic, and YOU couldn't do anything but hit on our enemies."

"How often do you come across _three _hot female Autobots?" Skywarp asked. "Besides, they thought we were totally studly!"

"They didn't think we were studly!" Thundercracker hollered. "They thought we were pathetic!"

"Well, _I_ can't help it if you lost to a femme," said Skywarp haughtily.

"One of them gave me her number!" Thundercracker protested.

"Don't lie, TC!" Skywarp warned him. "I know she just gave you the number to the local energon shop!"

"You are NEVER going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Never."

"That was not our finest hour," said Starscream, making no effort to break up his brothers' argument. "By the way, TC, would you bring me another one of those smoothies?"

"We're all out," Thundercracker told him flatly.

"How can that be?" Starscream tossed his empty smoothie can onto the ground. "There were eight this morning!"

"Well, you drank them all," Thundercracker said.

"No, Rumble had one of them." Skywarp laughed. "It was too much for the little guy, though. Just about an hour later, I saw him throwing it up all over Soundwave."

"That's because those disgusting things are _filled _with synth-en," Thundercracker explained. "Like, _none _of it is real. In fact, Starscream, I don't think you should be drinking any of it either."

"It's the only thing I've found that numbs my wing pain," Starscream said back. "So I guess I'm out of luck."

Thundercracker shook his head. "Look, Screamer, all I know is-"

"I'm going out on a mission tonight," said Megatron, striding into the room, hands behind his back. The old mech's eyes were aimed towards the ground, but he took a moment to glance up and glare at the three Seekers. "I'm looking for an energy source I've been tracking. They seem to be out in the wilderness, hidden in a mine or a cave somewhere. They're highly unstable, though. So it's very important that I get to them before the Autobots do."

"Would you let Starscream go with you?" Skywarp asked.

"Yeah, he definitely needs to get out for a little," Thundercracker added.

"Oh, so now you're trying to get rid of me!" Starscream bolted up and put his hands over his hips. "I know you're thinking it-traitors!"

"We are so _not _traitors!" said Skywarp, hurt. "We just want you to stop being so moody and sulky and get some fresh air."

"Moody and sulky." Starscream shook his head. "Can you believe this guy?"

"I sure can," said Thundercracker, pushing Starscream in Megatron's general direction.

"Now why can't you go on the mission together?" Skywarp asked. "You could, like...bond, or something."

"Me and Starscream? _Bond_?!" The thought was so ridiculous that Megatron and Starscream burst into laughter.

"I don't see that working out, exactly." Starscream grinned, wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes. "But slag it, I'll go anyway. I _do _need to get out of this place."

**NEXT CHAPTER: When Starscream inevitably begins to question Megatron, things get real ugly real fast. Starscream as always has quite a mouth on him…but this time, what will it cost him?**


	2. Lost in the Jungle

Megatron and Starscream kept walking, deep into the wilderness, night approaching. They were in the middle of the jungle; dusk was making everything dark and indistinct. Starscream wasn't 100% comfortable with the eerie sounds of the night creatures around him.

"There aren't any snakes around here..._are _there?" Starscream asked.

"I'm sure there are." Megatron smirked. "Why? You aren't _scared_, are you?"

"No, I was just curious," said Starscream uncertainly as Megatron rolled his eyes. "When are we going to get there? If I have to walk for one more hour, my legs are going to atrophy!"

"We'll find it soon," Megatron snapped, already annoyed by the fact that Starscream had not stopped complaining throughout their whole journey so far.

"What do you mean, _find _it?!" Starscream screeched. "You don't even know where it _is_?!"

"I just know it's there." Megatron was trying to keep from getting angry. "I told you, we'll find it."

"I'm sure we will," Starscream scoffed. "Just like how we always achieve all of your OTHER big plans."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Megatron spun around, red eyes flashing.

"I'm _tired _of playing second banana to a leader who can't even figure out where his energon is hidden!" Starscream shouted back. "If you'd listen for _once _to what I say-"

"YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE!" Megatron exploded. "And you failed!"

"_You_'_re _the total fail!" Starscream yelled.

"I'M the total fail?" Megatron, infuriated, grabbed Starscream's injured wing, deliberately brushing his hand against the important, damaged wires. Starscream let out a howl of pain and jerked away.

"Don't DO that!" Starscream told him, the wires in his wings sparking. "Don't you know it's forbidden to touch a Seeker's wings?"

"Sure, but I don't care."

"I refuse to be led by you!" Starscream hollered, kicking Megatron in the shin. "In fact, I-I'll find the energon myself! Yeah!"

"That'll be the day!" Megatron almost choked with laughter, which only encouraged Starscream. "Actually, I might have to take you up on that offer. It will be amusing to watch you fail!"

"You're going to eat those words, Megatron!" Starscream declared, running off. "You'll see!"

Megatron watched Starscream disappear into the trees. Still cackling to himself, he left to explore a nearby cave.

...

"Who does that slag-tard think he is?" Starscream muttered to himself as he waded through the wilderness, his legs and wings hurting more with every step. "I WILL find the energon supply first. And when I do, I'll just go home and leave Megatron here in the jungle, because that's what he deserves!"

Starscream's hands were scratched from pushing huge tree branches out of the way, and he was tired of stumbling over unforgiving logs and rocks. The young Seeker felt himself shiver every time he heard a screeching sound in the distance or rustling in the trees above. Honestly, he could tell why the flesh creatures didn't come out here too often. The city was much better. There were more lights there, and no strange creatures hiding and waiting.

As the hours passed, Starscream felt himself getting a little...lightheaded. Thundercracker was _right_...he was running almost entirely on synthetic energon now and he needed high-grade if he was ever to complete such a long mission. It was too late now, though. The energon he had left would only last several more hours.

Starscream shrieked when he felt something land on his shoulders. What was _that_?! Another Earth creature?

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Starscream waved his arms all around in the air and finally the thing jumped off of him, hooting. It was only a little monkey that had gotten the better of him, but everything about the jungle had Starscream spooked.

Panting with exhaustion, Starscream sat down on a log and watched the monkey grab a vine and swing himself away. Trying to slow his breathing down, he told himself, "FORGET the stupid Earth creatures. Just look for the energon supply and then you can leave everything else behind. INCLUDING Megatron."

...

Megatron had seen energon hidden in caves before. This was the ONLY place in which it could be lurking. In the end, it was probably a good thing that he and Starscream had gone their separate ways; Megatron would find the energon, and Starscream could stay lost in the jungle forever for all he cared.

It wasn't scary in the cave. There were bats that screeched and landed on the strange cave formations, and Megatron could hear the sounds from all kinds of animals outside. But honestly, it wasn't SCARY. Many Earth creatures, he had learned, were actually quite harmless if left unprovoked, so there was no reason to fear them.

By now, Megatron had been searching the cave for about an hour. Most of his thinking, of course, was focused on finding the energon supply, but every so often (just for amusement) he thought of Starscream lost and alone in the jungle, frightened out of his mind...but he would still continue the fruitless search for energon, because he was just THAT prideful.

Megatron almost tripped over a stalagmite when he heard a familiar voice cry out his name-"LORD MEGATRON!"

_Starscream_? Megatron recognized the voice, but he decided not to answer. _Whatever_, he thought.

"LORD MEGATRON!" Starscream repeated. "HELP ME!"

"Pfft, _he_'_s _the Almighty Starscream," Megatron muttered sarcastically. "Almighty Starscream doesn't need _me_, a total fail...he can handle whatever it is on his own."

"LORD MEGATRON! I NEED YOU!" Starscream actually sounded panicked now. "I CAN'T HANDLE THIS ON MY OWN!"

"Oh, he probably just ran into some harmless Earth creature," Megatron told himself. "Just overreacting, as usual. There is no _way _I'm turning back for him."

But then Starscream said something that changed everything-

"I'VE FOUND THE ENERGON!"

**NEXT CHAPTER: So…if Starscream found the energon, why does he sound like he's in danger? Why does he need Megatron? What happened?**


	3. Death Zone

Megatron, startled, dialed Starscream's com. link. If Starscream had found the energon, why did he need help taking it back home? What had gone wrong?

The com. link was ringing, but instead of Starscream answering, the call suddenly dropped.

"Starscream!" Megatron hollered, redialing Starscream's number-again, the call dropped. "I demand that you answer immediately!"

"MEGATRON, WHERE ARE YOU?!" Starscream was calling again.

"Oh, it's no use," Megatron mumbled, and decided to just search for Starscream's energy signal instead. To his shock, Starscream's energy signal wasn't the only one he was picking up-and the others didn't register as Decepticon energy signals. _Wait a minute_._ That could only mean one thing_..._oh slag_!

Megatron used Starscream's energy signal to seek him out, deep in the jungle. After running for what seemed like miles and trying to avoid all the Earth creatures and vegetation screaming for his attention with every step, Megatron reached Starscream.

It was just as he thought. The energon cubes, only five of them but all literally burning with energy and power, had been set aside for the moment. Starscream was trying to battle a pack of Autobots, at least seven, obviously aiming to take the energon with them. Starscream was cracked and bleeding, shooting any Autobot who neared the cubes.

"Megatron!" cried Starscream. "You're here!"

At any other instance, Megatron would have made fun of Starscream for actively seeking out his help, but there was no time.

"Do you think I would let the Autobots take my energon?" Megatron snapped. "This isn't about me or you. This is simply about keeping the energon out of Autobot hands."

Megatron shot his cannon at Optimus Prime, who dodged out of the way and tackled him. While Megatron and Optimus battled fiercely, the other Autobots were ganging up on Starscream, knocking him down to the ground. Bumblebee scrambled up a tree, grabbed a low-hanging vine, and slapped Starscream with it; Starscream got up and shot Bumblebee, who shot him in the arm.

"Wretched Autobot!" hollered Starscream, holding his bleeding arm. "Megatron, call for backup!"

Megatron tried Soundwave, Skywarp and Thundercracker, none of whom answered. That was a problem. Soundwave ALWAYS answered his com. link! For every Decepticon com. link Megatron tried, every call he made failed.

"I can't get a signal!" Megatron yelled. "This must be a dead zone!"

"STUPID JUNGLE!" Starscream screamed in frustration, as the Autobots tackled him to the ground again. "STUPID, STUPID AUTOBOTS!"

Megatron pulled Starscream off the ground. "We'll just fight them ourselves!"

"And what proof do I have that we're going to be able to do _that_?" Starscream demanded.

"None whatsoever," said Megatron, trying to remain calm.

"Megatron! We're already outnumbered!" said Starscream. "If they get the energon too, we're going to be powerless! Those things are liable to explode like touch bombs!"

"Then you're gonna have to _trust _me," Megatron told him, then turned into a gun, which Starscream used to shoot the Autobots. As he was doing this, he noticed the Autobots going for the energon. Quickly, he dropped Megatron, who turned back into a robot. Optimus grabbed an energon cube, which Starscream dove for at the exact same time. They struggled hard for it, almost like a tug-of-war.

"Don't let Megatron take the energon!" Optimus was saying, grunting with effort as he pulled on the energon cube.

"Let GO, Autobot!" Starscream hissed.

"I'll take care of Starscream, Prime!" said Ironhide suddenly, and before Starscream and Megatron knew what was happening, Ironhide had shot the energon cube dead-on; Optimus quickly let go and dodged, leaving Starscream holding onto the energon cube-which exploded on impact, right in his face.

As the Autobots quickly gathered up the remaining energon cubes and sped away, Megatron heard the explosion, then an energon-chilling scream-and then everything went black.

**NEXT CHAPTER: Megatron is lost, and Starscream is severely damaged—if not dead! Who will help them when they're all alone, deep in the jungle, and don't have access to their com. links?**


	4. Raw Energon

Megatron awoke to Earth precipitation pouring down into the jungle.

"What the...?" Megatron weakly sat up, then reached a shaky black hand out to feel the raindrops landing into his palm. Earth was such a disgusting mudball. Feeling a sudden pang of homesickness for his own mechanical planet, Megatron lay down again and turned over on his side, hoping to fall into stasis again. There was no way he was ever going to get out of this jungle, so he might as well die here. Not only _that_, but the energon cubes were gone, too. Oh, the irony.

Megatron's head fell uncomfortably onto a fallen tree branch. When he sat up again to push it aside, he noticed it was covered in something wet. At first he thought it was just rain, but then he noticed how it burned his hand, and that it was a bright purplish-pinkish color. It didn't look like regular energon, but Megatron recognized what it was.

"Synth-en?" Megatron was confused until he remembered that he was not alone.

Starscream was still lying off a ways, collapsed onto the ground. By some miracle the exploding energon cube had not blown him entirely to pieces-he must have been thrown off to the side somehow, Megatron thought.

Either way, though, Primus had not been so merciful; Starscream was either in very deep stasis or he was dead. Synthetic energon was still pouring out of his exposed inner workings, mixing with the rainwater that still pelted out of the sky. Megatron crawled over to Starscream and jiggled his hand.

"Starscream?" he asked. "_Starscream_?"

Nothing.

Megatron looked down at his own body. It was true that his head was hurting, and he was scratched and sore, but there was no bleeding, no serious damage. There was still plenty of healthy, high-grade energon streaming through his tubes. Nothing severe had happened to him during the battle; he would certainly survive.

The rain was getting so irritating. Megatron hoisted himself up and prepared to take to the skies, hoping to get home soon. Starscream was obviously dead, and that couldn't be helped. It was probably for the better, anyway.

_I_'_m not even coming back for his body_, Megatron thought to himself harshly. _After all_, _he doesn_'_t deserve it_.

Starscream twisted in his sleep, whimpered, and his eyes opened just a little. Then they closed again. Megatron turned around. Starscream was still alive? But how?

_I hate him and he hates me_, Megatron thought to himself, shooting up into the sky. _Maybe his life is hanging by a thread_, _but I don_'_t_-

Megatron screeched to a halt in midair and quickly descended, his feet making a splash as he landed hard in a rain puddle. There he dropped to his knees and lifted up Starscream's head, holding one bright blue hand and squeezing it tight-then quickly dropping it, as he realized the forearm was no longer attached to its owner.

"I can't let you die, Starscream," Megatron whispered. "Not like this."

Megatron tried swatting at Starscream's helmet, pulling on his arms (which were missing several fingers) and on his damaged legs, but he got no response from the Seeker. Finally, Megatron reached up and sunk his fingernails into one of Starscream's wings.

Starscream jerked awake, eyes wide open, and gulped in a deep breath. "Is that...is that you, Megatron?"

"Just focus on my voice, Starscream," Megatron told him calmly. "I'm right here with you."

"Megatron, I-I don't feel good," Starscream was saying. "Why can't I feel my arms? Or my legs? Or...or anything?! What's happening?!"

"Calm down," Megatron said, knowing panic was the last thing they needed right now. "You're going to be all right."

"I-I don't think I..." Starscream looked uncertain.

"Focus on my voice," Megatron repeated. "You'll survive this...I _promise_."

Starscream couldn't lift his head, so Megatron did it for him. By now the Seeker was in so much pain that he was slipping in and out of consciousness. Synth-en streamed down Starscream's faceplate like tears of blood; Megatron tried wiping it away for him, but it kept on coming. Starscream's temples were bleeding heavily, as was the rest of him. Starscream's wings had been fractured, most of his fingers blown off. Too hurt to even cry out, he let his head turn listlessly to the side as Megatron lifted him up.

Megatron had heard the roar of the gun and seen the energon cube explode; that painful scream was the last thing he heard before he blacked out. Megatron held his second a little closer, feeling himself shivering in the cold, heavy rain. Starscream closed his eyes again, letting out a feeble little moan.

"It's okay," said Megatron, his voice cracking. "The energon cubes are fine and so are you. We'll just get you back to the med bay, get you home, get you patched up a little..."

"I'm not going to...to make it home...alive," Starscream mumbled. "I c-can't."

"Please don't die on me, Starscream." Megatron reached for Starscream's other hand and squeezed it, feeling tears in his own eyes now, warm and stinging.

But he knew that he was only fooling himself. Starscream was too far gone to save. Instead of being killed instantly and painlessly during the explosion, he had to suffer this prolonged death, bleeding until he had no more energon left.

Kneeling down in a mixture of synth-en, mud, and rain, clutching the near-dead Starscream in his arms, Megatron began to weep. It seemed like such a golden opportunity-hadn't both of them always _wanted _the other one dead? But this was different. Megatron and Starscream might have their disagreements, but this wasn't a fate Megatron would wish on _any _fellow Decepticon.

Clenching his fangs together and wiping his tears away, Megatron looked around for something sharp enough-the only thing he could think of was Starscream's wing tip. It was desperate, yes, but this was a desperate time. Wincing and looking away, he jabbed it into the tip of his finger, feeling raw energon soon stream out.

After a few minutes, collecting enough of it in his hand without losing too much of it himself, Megatron made a fist to quell the bleeding in his finger then took his own healthy energon in two hands, cupped, sealed tight; he pinched Starscream again, managing to awaken him, and bade him drink.

"Where did you find energon, Megatron?" Starscream asked, sounding confused, tripping on his own words.

"I SAID DRINK IT!" Megatron hollered.

"This tastes funny," Starscream mumbled, but he kept drinking the energon transfusion. It wasn't what either of them would have preferred, but they had no provisions, and Starscream needed something to keep him alive for a few more hours until they could get help.

It was lucky Megatron hadn't been consuming any of the energon shakes that Starscream had been enjoying that whole afternoon; he had deliberately been drinking _healthy _energon, which he knew would give him the energy he needed to go on a mission that might last the majority of the day.

"Do you feel a little better?" Megatron asked, once his hands were empty.

Starscream nodded and collapsed onto Megatron's chestplate, unconscious but still breathing. In the rain, Megatron felt him shivering.

"Don't worry," Megatron whispered, holding Starscream close and stroking his helmet. "I'll protect you."

**NEXT CHAPTER: What will become of Megatron and Starscream? Will they get back to base somehow? Or will they die out there?**


	5. Strong Ties

Starscream soon fell into stasis again after the energon transfusion, and Megatron could only hope that it had worked. After several minutes, he drifted off too. Time passed; it may have been one hour, it may have been five. Nothing about Megatron's stasis was pleasant; everyone was shouting at him, in words he couldn't understand. Finally a loud call shattered the dream-

"WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Megatron bolted awake. It hadn't been a dream at all; it was Skywarp and Thundercracker he had been hearing, calling for them, maybe for hours, judging by how hoarse their voices were.

"OVER HERE!" Megatron hollered at the top of his lungs. "WE'RE OVER HERE!"

"Megatron? Is that you?" Skywarp suddenly popped into view, holding Thundercracker's arm. Apparently they both had been teleporting all throughout the jungle, searching for their lost comrades.

"Are you guys okay?" asked Thundercracker, breaking free of Skywarp's grasp and running over, Skywarp close behind.

"_I _am." Megatron stood up and dusted himself off. "I don't know about Starscream."

"Dear Primus, what _happened_?" asked Thundercracker, dropping to his knees and lifting up Starscream's head. "Did he die?"

"Well...I don't know," said Megatron. "You see, he got messed up pretty bad earlier tonight."

"Yeah, we've got that much figured out, thanks," said Skywarp, poking Starscream with a stick.

"Don't _poke _him, moron," said Thundercracker sharply. "Judging by what I see here...you ran into the Autobots?"

"They took all the energon except one-and that one they used to deliberately cause an explosion," Megatron explained. "Starscream took the majority of the damage."

"Well, why in the name of Primus didn't you _call _us?" Thundercracker demanded.

"I _tried_, but this is apparently a dead zone," Megatron told him. "I couldn't get a signal at all. And because of that, the Autobots caused an energon explosion that was meant to kill Starscream...and for all I know, they might have succeeded."

Skywarp knelt down next to Starscream and pressed his head to Starscream's chest then sat up, eyes teary with relief. "I-I can make out a pulse. Starscream's still alive!"

"Okay, you teleport him home," Megatron ordered. "Thundercracker and I will meet you in the med bay soon."

Skywarp nodded, grabbed his unconscious brother's arm, and vanished.

"They should be back home already," said Thundercracker. "C'mon, let's follow them."

With that, the two of them took to the skies.

...

When Starscream finally awoke, he had no idea where he was, and everything around him was blurry. All he was sure of was that he was in serious agony.

"What's going on?" he whined.

"Starscream, you're awake!" he heard someone exclaim, and it was Skywarp, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. The purple Seeker put his hand on Starscream's knee. "Sore?"

"Yes, very," Starscream mumbled. "What happened?"

"Well, as far as I can tell, you were hit by an energon cube that exploded like a touch bomb," said Skywarp shortly. "You're positively lucky to be alive."

Starscream, slowly coming to his senses, looked around the room. Instantly, he figured out that he was in the med bay; he was lying down on the repair table with a few blankets thrown over him, and a lumpy pillow had been placed underneath his head. Also, his whole body was apparently covered in clumsily applied medical tape.

"Wow, really?" said Starscream, shocked. "Thanks for saving me, Skywarp."

"I didn't do anything, really," Skywarp told him, standing up. "It's Megatron you have to thank."

"Megatron?"

Followed by Thundercracker, Megatron walked into the room then, with an awkward, almost gentle smile on his face (the most gentleness he was capable of, anyway). In his arms were three high-grade energon cubes; Thundercracker was carrying three, too.

"You're going to want these," said Megatron, setting the fuel down. "You lost pretty much all of your energon back there."

"High-grade," said Starscream in relief, picking up one of the cubes and downing it in one gulp. "I needed this."

"Isn't that better than those smoothie things?" asked Thundercracker.

"Yes," Starscream admitted.

"Well, you drink as much as you need to," Skywarp told him, patting him on the head.

Starscream couldn't concentrate completely on his next drink; he set it aside and aimed his glance downwards, not looking at anyone around him. "Skywarp says _you _helped me, Megatron."

"I did," Megatron grunted, shrugging. "I shouldn't have, but I did."

"Why?" Starscream, still not looking up, fiddled with the bedcovers, not knowing what to do.

"To tell you the truth, that's what I've been asking myself," Megatron muttered, sinking down onto Starscream's bed. "I can't explain it. I couldn't let you die there...I just _couldn_'_t_. Not when you were at my complete mercy like that."

"And he should be drinking the energon, too," added Thundercracker. "Apparently Megatron gave you some of his _own_, just so you could last long enough that you might get help."

"Lord Megatron, I owe you my life," Starscream whispered.

"You're still pretty banged up, though," said Skywarp. "We're going to have a freelance medic come in and fix you up. I just met her when I was out getting a drink. And she's a Seeker, so her specialty is doctoring Seekers. Her name's Moonbeam, and she's really pretty."

Thundercracker spit out the energon he'd been drinking, spewing it all over the floor, then raised his hand. "Oh! Oh! Can I be hurt next?"

"Of course not," said Starscream, rolling his eyes.

"No, really, I think I broke my arm last week," Thundercracker insisted. "I might need help taking a bath for a few months."

"Thundercracker, how many times do I have to tell you?" Skywarp said. "If you're injured, it does NOT count if she has to bathe you, no matter HOW cute she is."

"Well, I should at least be given a little mouth-to-mouth, then." Thundercracker crossed his arms.

"Besides, TC, would you like to know what she asked me when I met her?" Skywarp asked him smugly.

"Oh boy, would I," said Thundercracker sarcastically.

"She asked me if I would have an energon smoothie with her later." Skywarp grinned. "You don't happen to still have their number?"

Thundercracker hollered out a jealous obscenity and tackled Skywarp down onto the floor. Skywarp punched him in the face then struggled against him, both of them yelling. Finally, Megatron walked over and pulled them apart.

"Seekers really do have to learn to control their promiscuous natures," he told them sharply.

"Oh, that's embedded so deeply in our coding, there's no way you could even try to control it," Starscream said jokingly. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Thundercracker and I were uncles within this year..."

Megatron growled in frustration, and Skywarp shrugged.

"That aside," he was saying uncertainly, "I-I guess we never know our true personalities...until we're tested."

"Whatever _that _means," Thundercracker muttered, but Starscream grabbed the blankets and stared up at Megatron.

"I-I'm sorry I called you a total fail," he told Megatron, his voice even shriller than usual. "I never really meant it."

"And I'm sorry I hurt your wings," Megatron said back calmly. "I won't do it again."

Starscream smiled tentatively and nodded.

"Aww," said Skywarp, bending down and giving Starscream a tight hug.

"Aww," said Thundercracker, joining the group hug and yanking Megatron down with him.

"I love you guys," Starscream whispered, sounding almost tearful as he said it.

"Can we please STOP this?" said Megatron irritably.

Everybody pulled out of the hug, but Thundercracker grinned. "I guess you were right about one thing, though, 'Warp."

"What?" said Skywarp.

"Megatron and Starscream really _did _bond over this mission, just like you said," Thundercracker replied.

"Woah...he's _right_." Starscream looked legitimately shocked.

"Yes, we bonded," said Megatron.

"I think I'm gonna barf," said Starscream, and clapped one sky-blue hand over his mouth.

"And if anyone needs me, I'll be washing out my mouth," Megatron added weakly.

Megatron rushed out of the room and Starscream shuddered a little, lying back onto the pillow.

"Some things never change," said Thundercracker, shaking his head, and he and Skywarp both burst into laughter.

-the end-


End file.
